Associate Director of the Economic Mobility Program, Center for American Progress
Associate Director of the Economic Mobility Program at the Center for American Progress, he works on housing, household debt, and higher education
PROFILE
Andrew Jakabovics
Guest
FROM Andrew Jakabovics
Which Way, L.A.?
Homeownership and the American Dream Six years ago, George W. Bush declared that, “owing a home lies at the heart of the American dream.” Yesterday, President Barack Obama said that home foreclosure means losing a “foothold in the American Dream,” an idea that dates back to the Great Depression. But there’s a downside, and it’s come to a head in the current recession as millions of homeowners are losing their homes to foreclosure. Why should tens of billions of taxpayer dollars help people get back into housing they can’t afford? What’s wrong with renting?
To the Point
What's Wrong with Renting? Six years ago, George W. Bush declared that, "owing a home lies at the heart of the American dream." Yesterday, President Barack Obama said that home foreclosure means losing a "foothold in the American Dream," an idea that dates back to the Great Depression. Politicians virtually equate homeownership with patriotism, and government subsidies include the mortgage-interest exemption. But there's a downside, and it's come to a head in the current recession. Millions of homeowners are in big trouble. Why should tens of billions of taxpayer dollars help people get back into housing they can't afford? As the author of Don't Get Caught with Your Skirt Down : A Practical Girl's Recession Guide asks, what's wrong with renting?
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